That was the best quote from Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin during a Bell Centre news conference Thursday afternoon, less than three hours after he had traded top prospect Mikhail Sergachev to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Jonathan Drouin.

Less than two months ago — after the Canadiens were eliminated by the New York Rangers in the first round of the playoffs — Bergevin insisted he wouldn’t trade Sergachev, a defenceman he selected with the ninth overall pick at last year’s NHL Draft. But remember, Bergevin also insisted he wasn’t trying to trade P.K. Subban last summer.

What happened to change the GM’s mind about Sergachev?

“Well, because I’m getting a 22-year-old player, so I’m not getting an older player,” Bergevin said about Drouin. “I’m trading a young prospect for sure, a player that we really like. But I’m getting in return a 22-year-old, so it’s pretty much a young player for a young player.”

The fact Drouin is a bilingual francophone from Ste-Agathe obviously doesn’t hurt in the eyes of Canadiens management.

This doesn’t look like a bad trade by Bergevin, since offence has been the Canadiens’ biggest problem for a very long time. Drouin, who was the No. 3 overall pick by the Lightning at the 2013 NHL Draft, has some amazing offensive skills, posting 41-64-105 totals in 49 games with the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads the season before the Lightning drafted him. He also won the fastest-skater competition as a rookie during the 2015 NHL All-Star Skills Competition.

In 73 games with the Lightning this season, the left-winger posted 21-32-53 totals, which would have ranked third on the Canadiens behind Max Pacioretty (35-32-67) and Alexander Radulov (18-36-54). Drouin also played a bit at right wing and centre with the Lightning and the Canadiens remain weak down the middle.

“I’ve played a lot of positions, and at the end of the day I don’t decide where I’m going to play,” Drouin said.

When asked if he was still looking for a centre, Bergevin said: “At this point, that would be part of showing my hand, which I don’t do. So all I could tell you is I always look to make the team better. I know you’re probably tired of that answer, but that’s the only answer that I have for you.”

Bergevin has said he doesn’t believe in a “window of opportunity” when it comes to a team’s chances of winning the Stanley Cup, but this trade — along with the Subban deal last summer — really makes you wonder. It’s not like this GM has ever lied before, right?

Shea Weber will be 32 on Aug. 14, while Subban just turned 28 last month. Drouin is still young, but Sergachev only turns 19 on June 25. Some Canadiens fans will no doubt be shaking their heads now at the thought the club has traded away defencemen Subban, Ryan McDonagh (a first-round draft pick in 2007) and now Sergachev. The Canadiens’ top defence prospect now is Noah Juulsen, their first-round pick in 2015.

With Subban and Michel Therrien both gone, the target is directly on Bergevin now if the Canadiens don’t improve and it seems like the GM is feeling the heat.

Alex Galchenyuk and Nathan Beaulieu — two other first-round draft picks — can become restricted free agents on July 1 and both could be on the trade market, although dealing Sergachev might keep Beaulieu’s spot. When you look at the Canadiens’ history of developing their first-round picks — including Nikita Scherbak (2014), Michael McCarron (2013), Galchenyuk (2012), Beaulieu (2011), Jarred Tinordi (2010) and Louis Leblanc (2009) — maybe it’s just as well they dealt Sergachev for a player who has already shown he can perform in the NHL.

When asked if he might trade Galchenyuk, Bergevin said: “I don’t answer that. I don’t talk player transactions, possibly or not possibly. I just don’t want to answer any of those questions.”

Last February, Bergevin said: “The idea of giving a young player like Sergachev for a fix won’t happen. I’ll always look to make the team better but if the price is a young guy who can have an impact for 10-15 years, I won’t do it.”

Bergevin is now hoping Drouin can have an impact for at least six years, signing him to a six-year contract worth US$33 million after the trade that will run through the 2022-23 season.

Bergevin could be very busy over the next couple of weeks, deciding what to do with Galchenyuk and Beaulieu, along with Radulov and Andrei Markov, who can both become unrestricted free agents on July 1. The GM also has to try and get a new deal with goalie Carey Price, who is heading into the final season of his contract

“My job is the same,” Bergevin said. “Every day when I wake up, I try to make the team better and for the next two weeks — especially with the crunch we’re in — I’ll try that and anything’s possible.”

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